Nexstar Media Group has filed a 50-page reply brief challenging the preliminary injunction that halted its $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, escalating its legal fight to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Texas-based broadcaster argues the injunction is "overbroad", contending that a nationwide freeze cannot be justified by alleged competitive harms said to affect only 31 of the country's 210 television markets. The dispute matters because the deal would create the largest US broadcast station group and was already approved and closed before courts intervened.

The merger, cleared by Brendan Carr's FCC with a rare waiver from the national 39% ownership cap, would give the combined company 259 stations reaching roughly 80% of the country, adding 27 duopolies and three triopolies. Nexstar closed the acquisition on 19 March, but within 24 hours a group of state attorneys general, including California and New York, sued to block it, as did rival DirecTV. Judge Troy Nunley granted a restraining order, finding DirecTV likely to succeed and citing "irreparable harm". Nexstar accuses DirecTV and the AGs of a "cynical attempt to advance their own commercial and political interests", saying the freeze costs millions daily and harms local journalism, while it disputes all antitrust claims.